Greatest Band

The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. The band took its name from the title of Aldous Huxley's book The Doors of Perception, which itself was a reference to a William Blake quote: "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite."^[6] They were unique and among the most controversial and influential rock acts of the 1960s, mostly because of Morrison's lyrics and charismatic but unpredictable stage persona. After Morrison's death on 3 July 1971, aged 27, the remaining members continued as a trio until disbanding in 1973.^[7]

Signing with Elektra Records in 1966, the Doors released eight albums between 1967 and 1971. All but one hit the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 and went platinum or better. The 1967 release of The Doors was the first in a series of top ten albums in the United States, followed by Strange Days (1967), Waiting for the Sun (1968), The Soft Parade (1969), Morrison Hotel (1970), Absolutely Live (1970) and L.A. Woman (1971), with 20 Gold, 14 Platinum and 5 Multi-Platinum album awards in the United States alone. By the end of 1971 it was reported that the Doors had sold 4,190,457 albums domestically and 7,750,642 singles. The band had three million-selling singles in the U.S.—"Light My Fire", "Hello, I Love You" and "Touch Me". After Morrison's death in 1971, the surviving trio released two albums Other Voices and Full Circle with Manzarek and Krieger sharing lead vocals. The three members also collaborated on the spoken-word recording of Morrison's An American Prayer in 1978 and on the "Orange County Suite" for a 1997 boxed set. Manzarek, Krieger and Densmore reunited in 2000 for an episode of VH1's "Storytellers" and subsequently recorded Stoned Immaculate: The Music of the Doors with a variety of vocalists.

Although the Doors' active career ended in 1973, their popularity has persisted. According to the RIAA, they have sold 33 million certified units in the US and over 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. The Doors have been listed as one of the greatest artists of all time by many magazines, including Rolling Stone, which ranked them 41st on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. The Doors were the first American band to accumulate eight consecutive gold and platinum LPs.

In 2002 Manzarek and Krieger started playing together again, branding themselves as the Doors of the 21st Century, with Ian Astbury of the Culton vocals. Densmore opted to sit out and, along with the Morrison estate, sued the duo over proper use of the band's name and won. After a short time as Riders On the Storm, they settled on the name Manzarek-Krieger and continued to tour until Manzarek's death in 2013 at the age of 74.

Three of the band's studio albums, The Doors (1967), L.A. Woman (1971), and Strange Days (1967), were featured in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, at positions 42, 362 and 407 respectively.

The band, their work, and Morrison's celebrity are considered important to the counterculture of the 1960s.

The Doors were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.

Debut Album

The band recorded their first album from August 24 to 31, 1966, at Sunset Sound Recording Studios. The Doors' self-titled debut LP was released in the first week of January 1967. It featured most of the major songs from their set, including the nearly 12-minute musical drama "The End".

In November 1966, Mark Abramson directed a promotional film for the lead single "Break On Through (To the Other Side)". To promote the single, the Doors made their television debut on a Los Angeles TV show called Boss City circa 1966, possibly early 1967, and then on a Los Angeles TV show called Shebang, miming to "Break On Through", on New Year's Day 1967. This clip has never been officially released by the Doors.

In early 1967 the Doors appeared on The Clay Cole Show (which aired on Saturday evenings at 6 pm on WPIX Channel 11 out of NYC) where they performed their single "Break On Through". Research has determined that the tapes were all wiped. The only shows that still exist are the final ones copied by an employee of the station, although this was long after the Doors' appearance. The Doors returned to The Clay Cole Show a second time on June 24 where they most likely performed "Light My Fire".

Since "Break on Through" was not very successful on the radio, the band turned to "Light My Fire". The problem with this song was that it was seven minutes long, so producer Paul Rothchild cut it down to three minutes by radically cutting the lengthy keyboard and guitar solos in the center section. "Light My Fire" became the first single from Elektra Records to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, selling over one million copies."Light My Fire" was the first song ever written by Robby Krieger and was the beginning of the band's success.

Morrison's death

Morrison died on July 3, 1971. In the official account of his death, he was found in a Paris apartment bathtub by his girlfriend Pamela Courson. Pursuant to French law, no autopsy was performed because the medical examiner claimed to have found no evidence of foul play. The absence of an official autopsy and the death certificate's having no reason of death besides heart failure, have left many questions regarding the cause of death. Morrison was buried in the "Poets' Corner" of Père Lachaise Cemetery on July 7. The epitaph on his headstone bears the Greek inscription "ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΝ ΔΑΙΜΟΝΑ ΕΑΥΤΟΥ", literally meaning "According to his own daimōn" and usually interpreted as "True to his own spirit".

Morrison died at age 27, the same age as several other famous rock stars in the 27 Club. In 1974, Morrison's girlfriend Pamela Courson also died at the age of 27.

Sources : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doors